Cape Verdes bound for Argentina - 12 Oct
by Kate Laird

21 15 S
38 40 W

Sailing downwind now, with the pole out. 161 nm midnight to midnight.

Spent most of last night crossing over a bank, where the depth was 190-220 FEET. Very odd, since for most of the trip, the depth has been 3-5 MILES. We're now back in the three mile range.

Magellenic Clouds visible at night now (two star clusters that look like clouds and are only visible in the Southern Hemisphere).

Had a "position party" yesterday, getting the world map out for Helen and Anna and marking our position. We do this every week and celebrate with Ferro Rocher (sp?) chocolates which look rather like the earth. Helen noted, "Wow, we're really close to shore." We are...only about 200 miles.

Hamish oiled Jimmy the wind vane, and noticed that the vibrations had started to wear on one of the uprights. He put another bolt in to stabilize it. The big 18 volt DeWalt handheld battery drill saves the day again.

You can learn more about the Lairds and Seal at their website www.expeditionsail.com.